Top 10 Video Calling services for Eastern Europe

2024. OpenAI acquired a video conferencing and screen-sharing service.



OpenAI has acquired Multi, a startup developing a video conferencing and screen-sharing service. This deal marks OpenAI's expansion beyond generative chatbots into the enterprise collaboration market. Multi was founded by former Dropbox product manager Alexander Ambirikos and former Google software engineer Charlie Ho and served as a platform enabling remote teams to seamlessly collaborate via video calls. Multi's core features included video chat for up to 10 concurrent users with screen sharing.


2024. SpaceX unveiled video calling service powered by Starlink



Elon Musk's SpaceX has unveiled a video calling service powered by the Starlink satellite network. These calls can be made using unmodified smartphones. The system operates on spacecraft supporting Starlink Direct to Cell cellular communications. T-Mobile is also participating in the service's rollout. The technology will be primarily used in areas without traditional cellular coverage. In these areas, smartphone owners will be able to send messages and make calls via Starlink satellites. During a demonstration of the system's capabilities, Elon Musk's company demonstrated how two users, located close to each other, communicate via video telephony at Site X.


2020. XROOM.APP - P2P video conferencing for white-label solutions



The new Estonian video conferencing service XROOM.APP has a number of distinctive features in the currently crowded video conferencing market. Firstly, it is based on peer-to-peer technology, meaning user videos do not reach servers and are completely anonymous. It also features a whiteboard, pair programming tools, screen sharing, and audio and video recording. The service is free, with no time limit or number of video call participants (though the optimal connection is up to 20 people). Secondly, XROOM.APP can be used for white-label solutions by large corporations or IT providers. The white-label option costs $15 per month for the ability to create a branded private video room and support up to a thousand webinar participants.


2011. Logitech launched video conferencing service for small businesses



Recently, Logitech acquired the multi-user video conferencing service SightSpeed, the video conferencing system maker LifeSize, and the video calling service Mirial. The result of these acquisitions - ClearSea - is now released. What's so special about it? Firstly, unlike Skype, it allows for free video calls with up to three participants. Of course, there are many other services that support a larger number of free participants. But ClearSea works on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. In addition to video conferencing, it offers screen sharing. Furthermore, ClearSea uses standard H.323 and SIP protocols, meaning it can connect to any standard video conferencing system. However, in the free version, such calls using standard equipment can last up to 5 minutes. ClearSea's paid version, which costs $29/month, removes this limitation and increases video quality from CIF (352x288) to 4CIF (704x576). The professional version even enables calls in Full HD (1080p) and encrypts traffic, which is essential for security-conscious businesses.


2010. Skype sets records thanks to video calls



According to TeleGeography analysts, Skype has become the largest international communications provider in 2009. One in ten international calls is handled through this service. In total, international call duration in 2009 amounted to 406 billion minutes, 12% of which were between Skype users. The reason for this popularity is not so much the free VoIP calls between subscribers, but rather the high-quality free video calling, which gives Skype an edge over other VoIP providers. According to research, video calling increases the average call duration by 10-20 times.

2006. Logitech Brings Video Calling to Windows Live Messenger

Logitech is bringing video calling capabilities to Microsoft's new Windows Live Messenger platform. Logitech and Microsoft have partnered to develop technology that enables customers to make full-screen, high-quality, and fully synchronized audio and video calls. Logitech has provided the same audio and video technology for Video Conversation (included in MSN Messenger since April 2005) and has supported the popular video chat feature in MSN Messenger since March 2003. The company plans to add quick access to Windows Live Messenger features to many QuickCam webcams in the future. Using a webcam and Video Call, people can video chat with colleagues around the world for free. Interestingly, video usage on the MSN Messenger platform is growing faster than voice usage.